Sections

Setting Up

Connecting flow sensors to the RainMachine Pro-16

Introduction A flow meter usually consists of a short pipe and an internal magnet revolving inside the pipe. The speed at which the magnet rotates is proportional to the water flowing through the pipe. The changes in the magnetic field are picked up at each rotation either by a reed relay (a small switch that closes when the magnet is close), or by a hall sensor and a signal shaping circuit. Both type of sensors can be used to pulse the RainMachine Pro-16 flow input terminal, and – by knowing the rotation/gallons ratio – water consumption can be measured. RainMachine Pro-16 supports three types of flow meter connections, the electrical connections and the software setup is described separately for each one.

1. Two-wire (reed-type) flow sensor Two-wire flow sensors must be connected between the 5V and F terminals, following the wiring diagram below. There is no recommended polarity, these are simple connect/disconnect switches controlled by a magnet.

2. Three-wire (hall-type) flow sensor Three-wire sensors are not simple ON/OFF switches and need power to operate. These sensors usually work across an input voltage range of 5V-24V and draw around 15mA of current. Power is supplied through the red (5V) and black ( GND) wires. The third (yellow) wire is an active output which can be used to drive the RainMachine PRO-16 F flow input terminal.

2.1. Three-wire (hall-type) flow sensor powered from RainMachine Pro-16 If needed, the RainMachine Pro-16 can supply power to rain or flow sensors, the dedicated output can deliver up to 35mA@5V. In such cases, the flow sensor must be connected to the 5V, F, and GND terminals, following the wiring diagram below.

2.2. Three-wire flow sensor powered externally If the three-wire sensor is already powered externally, two connections are needed to make the flow sensor work with the RainMachine Pro-16. The yellow wire must be wired to the flow sense input (F) while the black wire must be connected to GND, for reference.

3. Software setup The flow sensors from these setups only deliver the impulses to the sprinkler, to have that translated into water consumption, the flow sensor input must be enabled and the click/water consumption ratio must be given.

3.1 Enabling flow sensor input from the local interface While enabling the sensor is simple, and can be done from the local user interface (touchscreen), you will need your phone or computer to enter the amount of water flowing through with each impulse. This information is usually printed on the box of the sensor, or given by the seller you bought the sensor from. To enable the flow sensor from the Pro-16 local interface, tap on the icons highlighted with red:

3.2 Enabling flow sensor input from your phone, or Web UI Since you need your phone or the RainMachine web interface to enter the gallons/impulse ratio, it's easier to do the whole setup from there. To activate the sensor input and enter the gallons/impulse ratio from your phone, tap on the highlighted menu points:

You can do the same from the Web UI, by accessing my.rainmachine.com - you will need to enter your username and password.